The Avengers is already storming the international Box Office (given our review it’s not hard to see why), and Marvel Studios have clearly put a lot of faith in what many people are calling the stand-out star of the movie; The Hulk; as star Mark Ruffalo has just confirmed that he’s signed a six-picture deal with the studio.
Marvel have already tried bringing the mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner, and his giant, angry, green alter-ego to the big screen a couple of times in the past decade (Hulk was released in 2003 and starred Eric Bana in the titular role, before he was replaced in 2008 by The Incredible Hulk’s Edward Norton), but there’s no denying Avengers director Joss Whedon, and star Mark Ruffalo, did a great job of re-introducing the big green, and bringing a touch of humour to his often gruff exterior.
But even though Ruffalo has signed a six-picture deal (something which has become fairly standard practice over at Marvel HQ), and hopes to reappear as The Hulk, it’s not a done deal just yet; Marvel’s Kevin Feige has previously stated that there are no plans to bring the big man back to the big screen.
Plans can and do change in the movie business however, and as Marvel have been so pleasantly surprised about how well The Hulk has been received in The Avengers it’s entirely possible we may see Mr Banner making a return sooner than planned; with Marvel’s consumer products chief Paul Gitter saying that he may now be merged into the planned TV series (which is being developed by Guillermo del Toro), and get another stand-alone film in 2015.
In the meantime, you can catch Ruffalo as The Hulk in The Avengers (which is storming the Box Office everywhere right now, and due to open in the US this weekend), and you can find our review of The Avengers here.
Matt Wheeldon.
Source: Collider.
